Waterfalls in Scotland are wonderful in the rain

This is the sort of e-mail that makes everything worthwhile. No reason for Kate T and Geoff to be so kind, they had terrible weather but it did not stop them. Thank you K + G, it was lovely to have you.

Dear John and Gillian,
Beautiful Bay View Cottage was everything and more that I had
expected - warm, cosy, comfortable,beautiful location and very very
homely.

We had a brilliant time staying there for the week - despite appalling
weather - it rained sideways for most of our time there! But the plus
side was that the waterfalls everywhere were spectacular - including
the one that comes over the top of the mountain way up behind Bay View
itself.

We spent quite a lot of time in and around Glencoe - the cottage
couldn't have been better located and also went up to (and around)
Fort William and the Great Glen and down to Oban and around there too.

My visit has whetted my appetite for more Scottish Highland holidays
for certain.

We went up to Skye after leaving Kentallen - again the weather was
poor, but we saw some tremendous sights, and then down to Loch Moidart
where we were fortunate to see some sunshine and blue skies and had
another splendid time.

All in all a tremendous holiday and I'm already planning a return
visit! I have also given your website address to some friends and
family, so they may be in touch with you soon.

Thank you also for the excellent range of information available in the
cottage - we only scratched the surface of what there is to do and see
- and I have to say I LOVED the hip bath - took a bit of getting used
to to start with, but very effective.

(We never managed to get on line at the cottage - so nipped along to
the Tourist Information Centre at Ballachulish instead - good excuse
to have a cup of coffee at the same time!!)

Thank you again for helping us have a brilliant holiday. You are very
lucky indeed to own such a wonderful retreat.

Kate T & Geoff

John

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Finding an ancient Campbell (1)

One of the the loveliest things about letting out your cottage is the friends you can make. I've never met her, the lady who goes by the delightful nickname of PokeySue, but she and her husband live in the Usa and are coming back to Scotland next Spring for a visit.

She is a genuine romantic, loves the old Highland stories. Married to a Campbell, she is the kind of person who had to find out about his ancestors.


She is going to post the story in bits at a time and I am going to put them on this blog. I asked her how she started.


As a young girl, I read a book called "Highland Rebel" by a prolific author, Sally Watson, who wrote adventure books for girls. The heroine of the book was Lauren Cameron, a 12 year old arch enemy of the wicked Campbells and a staunch supporter of Bonnie Prince Charlie. Some years later I found myself married to a Campbell with two Campbell daughters …..so, I was intrigued to find out how our American Campbells landed in the USA, and I wondered why they were "wicked".

First, I asked a member of our family, who supposedly had the Campbell family tree. He sent me a list of all the Campbells, going back to Noah and the Ark. This was very discouraging and I gave up quickly after realizing finding our John Campbell among thousands was too difficult. I gave up.

Later the history of Scotland drew me back into it. With my memories of Scotland from the childhood yarn still clear in my mind, Kent and I finally traveled to Scotland for the first time. I made Kent drive down all the backroads in Lochaber to find a place called Highbridge, the site of one of the first battles (a skirmish really) between the Highlanders and the Redcoats, described in the book. When we finally did find it after many trials and travails, it was breathtaking. A ruin, marked by a cairn, deserted and ignored by tourists. History was reality. I knew then, that if we kept looking, we would find our Campbells somehow.


It was the sense of history that made us want to know more. Of course I did not know at the time that our Campbells had left Scotland, long before the '45, and that our research would bring us to pre-revolutionary New Jersey.


To be continued...High Bridge is off the A82 between Spean Bridge and Fort William, the little road is sigtnposted "Brackletter"


The photo above shows Bidean Nam Bian, the highest mountain in Glencoe, and the Ballachulish bridge.


John

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland
Short Breaks Glencoe
Scotland's top self catering, individual cottages and chalets with last minute offers

November is the month for short holiday breaks in Glencoe

We have made some very good friends amongst holiday cottage owners - the smaller ones, not the bigger businesses, and we have all got together on a new Scottish web site. This tells everyone about the special low rates we all offer around now. These other owners have excellent properties in wonderful locations.

The site is at http://www.lastminutecottageholiday.co.uk/
Special offers, self catering,short breaks, off season

We ourselves start to offer shorter breaks in November. We are full up for the first week in November, but for the next five weeks before Christmas we offer short holidays from Friday to Monday or Monday to Friday. If we did it any other way our poor housekeeper would be working at any odd time - Michelle is absolutely wonderful and we try and play fair with her.

You can see our rates and availability here Last minute availability Glencoe

John
ps the colours are splendid in November.

Karin's right. The Scottish people are friendly and kind

Applecross, on their road to Skye. From our friend Colin at http://www.conchra.co.uk/

Dear John,
We really enjoyed our vacation. We found the cottage to be just right and very cosy. It had all that we needed! We were very happy about the rubber boots and the extra rain gear. Sascha and I appreciated the information about the area and the kids appreciated the videos especially Braveheart! I didnt mind it at all. We loved all the lochs and went hiking many times in Glencoe. That is where I ate haggis and I also tried black pudding. That was a surprise because it is spiced with ginger. I really enjoyed it.

We were regulars at the co-op in Ballachulish and also visited the slate museum there. We went also to the Isle of Skye which was very beautiful. We loved the drive up there. We enjoyed driving on the left side of the road as well. It took time to get used to because the gear shift is on the wrong side and I always mistook the first and third gears the first and second day. One time I even drove a few yards on the right side before I noticed what I was doing...it was all fun.

We found the Scottish people to be very friendly and kind. I enjoyed the way they took their time with everything. We drove to Inverness as well and at least I had my first "high tea" in a very lovely tea room there. That was a highlight even for my boys. The older one really enjoyed drinking tea and eating scones! The younger one (10 years) had hot chocolate, but what he found most interesting was to watch the workers make the cakes and scones. That was lovely because all that was served was baked right there in an open kitchen. That was a lovely afternoon.

I took many walks on the path on opposite the house and enjoyed the stillness there.
We tried to leave the cottage in the same condition that we found it. Please let me know if I can help with anymore translating for German tourists.

All the best! Karin

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The Anoch Eagach solo. The wrong way.

This is where Keith walked. The usual route is from East to West. This lovely photo was taken by Dougie. His photos of Scotland can be seen at http://www.flickr.com/photos/oldnotbold/478270195/

Hi John,
We arrived back late on Saturday and I spent Sunday generally sorting out. School started on Monday, so I now feel as if I have been back ages!


The information, guidance and friendly help you gave prior to our visit and in the cottage was the very best we have ever experienced. No other host in any holiday cottage we have rented has been so keen to help and ensure we have a good time, know where to go, how to find the cottage etc etc. Your book in the house was read by us all; you really did work very hard on behalf of your guests and should be proud of yourself!!
We had an active holiday and the boys always had things to do. The weather was OK, not sunny, but also not pouring with rain.


What did we do? Firstly, we read all your information so we are grateful to you for your insight. We walked to the Hidden Valley, climbed Ben Nevis, walked to the waterfalls in Glen Nevis, the boys climbed at Kinlochleven Ice Factor (what a brilliant place!) they also ice climbed on our last day which was the first time for them. Kind instructors and very welcoming.


Keith walked a ridge which ended near the Clachaig which he just loved, but it sounded quite scary to me and I am glad the boys did not go too. It was foggy on top, so we had decided that Keith should trial it alone. He met people walking it with helmets and ropes, but he managed it and will talk about it for ages.



We ate at the Seafood Cafe whch was different and fun, but I think it fair to say we liked eating at the Clahaig most. It was lovely and informal, good food and not too expensive. (Haggis, tatties and neaps!) We enjoyed seeing deer outside the pub, just stood looking at us as we got into the car...beautiful. I very much wanted to go on the "whalewatching" trip from Arisaig to one of the islands, but was outvoted and due to lack of time (and will) we did not go. I regret that. Keith and my boys love to be active, to hike etc and did not want to spend a whole day on such a trip. We also kayaked (it was great to have the garage to lock the boats away) in the bay, to the bridge and to the Island of the Dead, off Glencoe.


So, the location/ area is stunning. Keith wanted to do far more hikes than we had time to do. The deer, the heather, the mountains were beautiful to say the least. I was fascinated by the history and read most of your history books! I had to stop by about Thursday as it seemed too gloomy, too unfair. I needed to read about something nice happening to someone. James of the Glen is rather stuck in my head at the moment! Where is the actual plaque on the site of the massacre? Is it just the cross in the village? I looked in "a field just beyond the Clahaig" as one guide book said, but "just beyond" gave me no direction or scale! Still I made myself not be too morbid about it all ...........


The cottage was lovely and clean. Bath is interesting, especially for Jim who is 6ft 5ins. He is of the generation who have never really done anything but shower, so I think he probably came home a bit dirty!!! (No harm in that)


Sally
Sally also had some very sharp things to say about the people who run the roads up here. She wants speed restrictions and better driving. She thinks the roads are dangerous, and we totally agree with her. The absolute worst bit of road is 10 miles south of the cottage on a sharp left bend. The signage and lack of speed restriction are a disgrace. Her remarks are going to the Village Council who also share her views, and now I'm going to do a separate blog and try and whip up a campaign about with. Good on you Sally. Thanks. Oban Times letters page, here we come, that will do for a start.

The pic is of the boys, Jim and Charlie, in the Hidden Valley. One of the reasons why the Glencoe MacDonalds were so hated by the other clans was because they carried out continual raids on other clans' cattle - an act punishable by death if caught at it - cattle thieving was the bank raid of the day. The other clans came in strength to the Glen to find the cattle and they never could. That's because the beasts were shoved up the steep track to the Hidden Valley, a feat which no one thought possible. Like most Scottish tales it is happy and sad at the same time. Sad if you are a Cameron or McLean or Campbell, but happy if you were a Glencoe MacDonald with food for the winter.

(Would the MacDonalds of Skye ever do such a thing? No, of course not. They'd nick the cattle out of the Dunvegan estate and ambush any McLeods who tried to get them back. Happy days.)

John

Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland

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Ancient Scottish hunter-gatherers traced to Benderloch, in Appin

Reconstruction of Mesolithic settlement in Finland.

When our girls were young we used to go caravanning at Ledaig, near Benderloch on the Oban road. Once we climbed a small hill overlooking the village and picked up a tiny rock which seemed to be sliced into layers, interleaved with fibres, which looked burnt. It could not be natural.

I sent it to the British Museum who sent a report back to me that it looked like the remains of a Vitrified Fort. These strange embankments have no lime or cement to hold the stones together. It seems to have been done by the application of intense heart. But no one knows why. I remember our young Joanne was particularly disinterested at the time. When you are seven you have other things on your mind.

Now the archaeologists have gone back a lot further. They’ve found the bones of the Mesolithic people at the end of a garden in Benderloch. They lived between 3,500 and 5,000 years ago. They’ve found a jawbone and other bones and have uncovered some caves – in a garden! They think there are the remains of two individuals there possibly a youngster s well.

Times past, people roamed throughout Scotland, in small tribal groups. For 4,000 years, after the ice retreated the climate was warmer and wetter, For their living, woodland was good with its plant gathering possibilities, rivers and sea were good for fishing, They travelled, pursuing herds of animals as they moved inland in the Summer and to the West Coast in the Winter with its more tranquil, warmer climate. They butchered the animals with their stone tools, cooked the fish on open hearths. Nuts, fish and game is what they ate.

But the West Coast had one other thing in its favour. Caves. Caves were the housing estates of the day. Lewisian gneiss one of the oldest rocks in the world and it is perfect for creating rock shelters. That is what we have around this part of the country.

You know, this land is absolutely marvellous. We can trace the story of our people from the Mesolithics in their caves, the Neolithics with their the standing stones which are everywhere. The biggest in Argyll is just 2 miles down the road from the cottage. Then we have the unexplained vitrified Forts and the equally mysterious Brochs – on Lismore.

The duns and burial mounds of Kilmartin, the early Scots from Ireland, St Columba, the clash between the early Gaels and the Picts, followed by the Vikings, then their settlement and integration with the population. Angus Og, son of Somerled ruled the Western Isles and formed an alliance with Robert the Bruce. He won the War of Scottish Independence at the famous Battle of Bannockburn. This led directly to the Stewart Kings and Queens. The first Stewart to rule was his son-in-law. He led directly to Mary Queen’s of Scots, her son, James, the first Stewart King of England, ending with Bonnie Prince Charlie himself.

The rest is history.

What a place this is!

John
Lochside cottage near Glencoe in the Highlands of Scotland
Short Breaks Glencoe
Winter breaks in Glencoe
Special offers, short breaks, off season

Wonderful week of weather in Scotland. Yes!

The garden wall at Ardchatten Priory near Connel. About 13th century. The wall, not the flower.
Dear John

We had an absolutely wonderful time up there, I think we had the best weather in the UK during that week! Only one day was a complete washout...
The countryside and scenery is stunning, I could certainly see myself spending my retirement there.
Apart from the walks (hidden waterfalls was a smash with the kids), we went ww rafting in Glengarry, talk about adrenalin.., seafari trip was also incredible

Cottage is very snug and cosy, everything you need was there. Thanks again for all the useful advice and tips on what to do.
I’m sure we’ll be back.

Note from editor: you might not believe this, but Kentallen has a little micro weather system all of its own. It has more sunshine and less rain than the average for the West of Scotland and about one-fifth of the rainfall they have in Glencoe itself six miles to the East. How do we know this? Because there is a Met station at Dunstaffnage near Oban.

Forget the Med. It is far too hot there. Try Kentallen, it is near perfect. And on the odd occasion when it is not perfection, it is wondrous to watch

John

Booking local services - good and bad

Three ladies from Australia are coming to the cottage for a week. They've been to the area before and love it. We can all understand that, can't we?

They'd like to go on the Harry Potter train to Mallaig, the Calmac dinner cruise from Oban to Tiree, and the Glencoe Land Rover Safari trip, and please could I book them?

Love to. Actually I thought I'd use it as an exercise to test out the booking services.

Here are the conclusions. The general accessibility was poor for all of them. Goodness knows how everyday visitors get on when they try and get through. You've got to be persistent. They'd give up, half of them.

Once you are through, though, the staff are nice and helpful. No probs. Can't tell about the Visitors Centre, Glencoe. Haven't been able to speak to anyone at all to-day.

The Jacobite train web links are pretty poor - if you get Scot Rail, you'll find it easier to book a journey to Paris than the famous Fort William line. "Where exactly is Fort William?" But I got the local number - from our web site actually, says he brushing his nails on his shirt. They were too busy dealing with face to face customers the first time I rang when they did not answer, understandable. But once I'd got through it was brilliance all the way. An e-mail confirmation, credit card and see the guard on the train. No probs. 3 minutes

Now I don't usually have anything good to say about Calmac. (MacBraynes was always ok for me, what is all this Calmac stuff?) Their Gourock office was useless as usual.
Along the lines of "Where is Oban exactly?" - not quite, but nearly. Even gave me the wrong number for their Tour office. The management is real rubbish - the people are nice but they do not have the information except for straight ahead ferries. I got the local Tour Office number - from guess where again? - and they were very good.

We do not even have to book, let alone pay for the Calmac trip in advance. Just turn up and you'll get on. It is a regular ferry, this trip, that is why. Calmac have always been far more concerned about cars and their length than people.

Only one thing wrong. They don't serve a meal on board - oh yes, you can get one, but it is self service. Actually we know this service and it is pretty good, the meals are good, and the prices are fair, so I'm not marking them down for this.

Only the blinking Glencoe Visitors Centre, run by the Scottish National Trust was awful. You can't get an answer on the phone. Left three messages to call me back, no one picked them up. They do give you a duty managers number, but why don't they just transfer the calls? Will have to do it all again to-morrow. Will have to ring the manager I suppose.

Real pain, this lark. Best to use the tips in our web site, events page.

Lochside cottage Glencoe local events

John

Some wonderful walks

Picture taken from the top of the Pap of Glencoe by our friend David "Cubby" Cuthbertson, the Glencoe mountaineer. He was the body double for the climber in the film Touching The Void.

A couple of weeks ago, our guests staying at the cottage did a huge amount of walking. Look at this programme:

They started out with the big half circle mountain trip around the back of us on day one, the Ballachulish horseshoe. This circles around 3,000 feet, and the mountain grows out of our back garden.

Next day, not having had enough of mountains, they went part way up Ben Nevis in the evening.

Then they walked part of the West Highland Way from Tyndrum to Crianlarich and back. That is a low glen walk, total 13 miles, with a little up and down. They would have passed the remains of a 14th century chapel, St Fillans, granted rights by Robt Bruce four years after his famous victory over the English at Bannockburn near Stirling. Ten years earlier Bruce had won his famous Highland battle near this spot at the Pass of Brander near Cruachan. His opponents were the McDougalls, supporters of Bruces’ rivals for the Crown.

Here is what Wikipedia says about the battle
“A party of loyal Highlanders, commanded by Sir James Douglas, climbed high up the mountain and, completely unobserved, positioned themselves in the enemy's rear. As the Macdougalls attacked they were caught in a vice, with King Robert coming from below and the Black Douglas from above. The men of Argyll wavered and then broke. They were chased westwards across the River Awe all the way back to Dunstaffnage, while John their chief escaped down the Loch in his galley, eventually taking refuge in England.

Later in the week our intrepid guests did the Hidden Valley.......... and loved it. Then, following day, they did the Pap of Glencoe. Whew! that's a lot of walking.

They said “Everywhere.....such wonderful walks and beautiful scenery......spoilt for choice !!”

take a break in the Autumn

We have weeks available in October and in November in the cottage

If we are full, then Cath can probably take you.

We received this lovely e-mail this morning. Must help out if we can because we are lucky enough to be booked up until the end of September. (Couple of dates in October free still!)

Also Cath's place takes 6 and a couple more whereas we only can only take 4+


Dear Gillian and John

I believe you have Bayview at Kentallen, which is a lovely location! I am making contact to ask if you would consider passing over any surplus bookings for weeks that you are already booked this summer.

We have not rented out our property at North Ballachullish for several years now due to a combination of family illness and being abroad in New Zealand for a while. We have arrived back in this country too late to organise our own bookings for the summer.

The house is available immediately and sleeps 6 + 2. Our property is situated in 1 acre off Old Ferry Road. A photo is attached.

Please email to let me know if you are interested (or phone 07917 072117). Many thanks in anticipation.

Cath